We're going on an egg hunt

And they're off! An early morning egg hunt to kick off Easter Sunday this morning. I love the anticipation of this photo. It is straight out of camera, so sorry for the slightly off colour balance.

The basket is one I made last year- I recommend origami baskets made out of vellum, thin but very strong!

A very happy Easter to you and your family.

"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Luke 24: 46-47.

Silhouette girl card

Several months ago after some encouragement (thanks Heike!) I submitted a set of cards to a magazine and to my shock, they actually published them. Who would have thunk it?

Well, this was the idea that started it all: Stamping on the back of patterned paper and cutting out the image to make a silhouette. And it works brilliantly with this stamp which is one of my favourites (Me and My Balloon by Laughing Moon.)

So now that it is past sale date- I get to say thanks to Australian Cardmaking, Stamping and Papercraft and share them here.

Wishing you all sunshine and laughter...

Starburst recycled pencilcase

I had a go at making a pencilcase from recycled materials- no sewing required! It was the "Eye Candy" project from Simply Sublime Bags by Jodi Kahn.

Guess which bit the boys were very happy to help with? We might even try our hand at making one to hold keys & phone in the beach bag- the packing tape makes it pretty waterproof, so it should be perfect for the job.

Hope you have a great start to the week.

Hybrid scrapping with free frame

A really useful and easy element to use in hybrid scrapping is a digital frame. I think this one is beautiful, and at the moment you can grab it for FREE from Joanne's blog here.

I have seen plenty of photo negative frames out there, but what convinced me about these is the very light but oh-so-important overlay inside the frame that really gives the whole thing a great look over the photo.

You might see this one turn up on a layout in the not too distant future ;) Thanks for the fantastic freebie Joanne!

Button chick gift tags

My samples for my last Scrapz.Chickadees challenge. Papertrey Ink everyday button bits, Hero Arts cloud background, Spellbinders dies.

My own doodled take on the same concept. I think the designers at PTI are safe for now! But I kinda like my like chick's funky hairdoo :)

Airplane birthday party ideas

My husband came up with these great ideas for activities

GAMES
- pin the propeller on the airplane
- Fighters and bombers (essentially a game of catch- the bombers have to run from one end to the other and if a fighter catches them they become a fighter too.)
- Make several paper airplanes and let the kids fly them around or have organised challenges for distance, best stunt, accuracy (aim at a hoop or target)
- set up a foam rocket toy (one with a foot air pump). Maybe see who can get it to go the highest.

PARTY BAGS
-I put a few lollies in a snaplock bag and stapled a tag with a ribbon loop to it. Each child went home with a helium balloon tied to the loop of the bag.
- Styrofoam gliders can be bought online for about $1 each.
- packet of Aeroplane jelly

FOOD
Apart from the cake I didn't do any other themed food. But easy to make food for the kids that I would recommend:
- popcorn
- jellycups
- chocolate crackles/rice crispies/honeyjoys
- mini cupcakes (there are some great packet kits out there that supply the cases, icing and decorations all in one box.)

Airplane birthday cake

So my big A who is turning 5 has a long running obsession with airplanes. But I couldn't face making an airplane shaped cake, so instead I have made my favourite chocolate cake as normal but added some airport decorations.

Supplies used:
Angel food cake tin (creates a hole in the center of the cake and forms the base of the tower.)
Foil covered chocolate airplanes
Cardboard roll- use something sturdy like the inside of cling wrap roll.
Empty ribbon roll
Paint
Wire
bamboo skewers
Wooden number
coloured cardstock or patterned paper
glitter embossing powder (optional)

Basically the air traffic control tower is formed by the cardboard roll and the ribbon roll with paint and cardstock for decoration. The wooden number I painted and also covered with glitter embossing powder. It was hard to attach- I had to sew it on!

The chocolate airplanes you can get online or at specialty confectionery stores. Use fairly thick gauge wire and wind around something round (I used a paintbrush handle) and then wind tightly around the bamboo skewer (cut to the length you need.)

I'll be back later with airplane party activity ideas, and the party favour bags.